Deposits of Love A jar full of pennies is a priceless symbol of love between children and their grandparents It’s been said that the best stories are gleaned from treasured family traditions. Lisa Soares Hale’s picture book, Penny Love, reflects that principle. Penny Love introduces readers to a toddler and her grandmother who discover a “warm, brown penny” while on a walk through the park. Grandma encourages the child to pick up the penny, explaining, “Whenever you find a penny, you will know that Grandma loves you.” Later that day, Grandma gives her granddaughter a jar, encouraging the little girl to store every penny she finds in the jar as a reminder of how much her grandma loves her. Hale’s inspiration for the story came from watching her own mother, who often picked up pennies. Every time Hale’s mother found a penny, she’d glance heavenward and whisper, “I love you, Mom,” to her mother who had passed away. Hale’s mom would then give the penny to one of her granddaughters, saying, “Keep that penny and know that I love you.” Hale, who has three daughters, decided to create a penny jar for each of her girls so they can watch the “deposits of grandma’s love” grow. “My mother lives in Florida and we live in Arizona,” says Hale. “But whenever my girls find a penny—which is quite regularly—they’re reminded that Grandma loves them.” Her daughters enjoy watching their jars fill with pennies, says Hale. “But their most special moments are finding the pennies, because their eyes light up and they say, ‘Grandma’s thinking of me right now.’” Most people view pennies as a worthless nuisance, and toss them without a second thought, says Hale. “I’m amazed at how many people leave pennies lying around.” But for her, pennies are anything but useless. As a symbol of love, they’re priceless. “As those jars start filling with pennies, they become invaluable symbols of love.” n our society—in which so many children feel lonely—a visible symbol of love can offer the much-needed security children yearn for. At the end of her book, Hale provides an incentive for families to start their own “Penny Love” tradition, including an illustration of a jar with space on which to tape the first penny. In addition to introducing readers to her family’s “penny love” tradition, Hale, who grew up in Hawaii, wanted her book to reflect the colorful tropics, palm trees, and sharp mountain ridges of her childhood home. And illustrator Marilee Harrald-Pilz perfectly captured Hawaii’s vibrancy, says Hale. The illustrator also carefully depicted the book’s main character, “growing” the preschool girl into a teenager, an adult, and finally, into a grandmother who passed along the “penny love” tradition to her own granddaughter. The result is a book that not only represents Hale’s own family but invites children ages 2-9 to establish a new family tradition of their own. “We all long to belong to a family,” says Hale. Penny Love offers a simple yet effective means for families to promote that sense of belonging. ### For more about Lisa Soares, visit www.pennylovebook.com. Writer’s Bio: Laura Christianson (www.laurachristianson.com) is a freelance writer from Snohomish, Washington. > back